A historical geographer from The University of Nottingham has been elected to the British Academy, the UK's champion of the humanities and social sciences, in recognition of his outstanding research.

Mike Heffernan has been Professor of Historical Geography at Nottingham since 1999. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; the BA and the Leverhulme Trust; his research deals with:

· the histories of geography and cartography (maps)

· the historical geography of France and the French overseas empire

· the history of the idea of Europe

· the history of internationalism

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Professor Heffernan has
a PhD from the University of Cambridge and has taught and researched at
Loughborough, UCLA and Heidelberg, Germany where he was an Alexander von
Humboldt Research Fellow. He was also editor of the Journal of Historical Geography from 1997 to 2005.

“I'm absolutely delighted to be elected a
Fellow of the British Academy, the UK's principal learned society for the
humanities and social sciences,” says Professor Heffernan. “I would like to thank
my colleagues in the School of Geography for providing such a lively and
supportive environment. I am especially grateful to my fellow historical and
cultural geographers from whom I have learned so much.”

The new 2015 election takes the total number of
living British Academy Fellows to over 1000 for the first time. As a new
Fellow, Professor Heffernan will attend the BA’s Annual General Meeting on 16
July in London.

At the AGM, the Academy will welcome the 42 new
Fellows whose research areas span from history to psychology, economics to law,
literature to philosophy and languages to archaeology.

Lord Stern, President of the British Academy, said:
“This year we have the honour of once again welcoming the finest researchers
and scholars into our Fellowship. Elected from across the UK and world for
their distinction in the humanities and social sciences, they represent an
unrivalled resource of expertise and knowledge.

"Our Fellows play a vital role
in the work of the Academy; encouraging younger researchers, engaging in public
discussion of the great issues and ideas of our time, and contributing to
policy reports. Their collective work and expertise are testament to why
research in the humanities and social sciences is vital for our understanding
of the world and humanity.”